CHAPTER FORTY FOUR.
INFERNO.
For the first forty yards the roof of the cave was so low that they hadto advance in a stooping posture. Then it heightened and the tunnelwidened out simultaneously. Eustace led the way, his bull's-eye lanternstrapped around him, throwing a wide disk of yellow light in front.Behind him, but keeping a hand on his shoulder in order to guide him,walked Josane; the other two following in single file.
A turn of the way had shut out the light from the entrance. Eustaceclosing the slide of the lantern for a moment, they were in black,pitchy darkness.
A perceptible current of air blew into the cavern. That looked as ifthere should be an outlet somewhere. Old Josane, while enjoiningsilence upon the rest of the party, had, from the moment they hadentered, struck up a low, weird, crooning song, which sounded like anincantation. Soon a glimmer of light showed just in front.
"That is the other way in," muttered old Josane. "That is the way Icame in. The other is the way I came out. _Hau_!"
An opening now became apparent--a steep, rock shaft, reaching away intothe outer air. It seemed to take one or more turnings in its upwardpassage, for the sky was not visible, and the light only travelled downin a dim, chastened glimmer as though it was intercepted in its course.An examination of this extraordinary feature revealed the fact that itwas a kind of natural staircase.
"This is the way I came in. Ha!" muttered Josane again, with a glare ofresentment in his eyes as though recalling to mind some particularlyignominious treatment--as he narrowly scrutinised the slippery, rockysides of the shaft.
"I suppose it'll be the best way for us to get out," said Hoste."Anything rather than that devil of a scramble again."
"The time to talk of getting out is not yet," rejoined the Kafir drily."We are not _in_ yet."
They resumed their way. As they penetrated deeper, the cavern suddenlyslanted abruptly upwards. This continued for some twenty or thirtyyards, when again the floor became level, though ever with a slightupward bend. Great slabs of rock projected from the sides, but thewidth of the tunnel varied little, ranging between six and ten yards.The same held good of its height.
As they advanced they noticed that the current of air was no longerfelt. An extraordinary foetid and overpowering atmosphere had taken itsplace. Similarly the floor and sides of the cavern, which before theyreached the outlet had been moist and humid, now became dry and firm.
"Hand us your flask, Shelton," said Hoste. "Upon my soul I feel as if Iwas going to faint. Faugh!"
The odour was becoming more and more sickening with every step. Musky,rank, acreous--it might almost be felt. Each man required a pull atsomething invigorating, if only to neutralise the inhalation of sopestilential an atmosphere. Smoking was suggested, but this Josanefirmly tabooed.
"It cannot be," he said. "It would be madness. Remember my words,_Amakosi. Look neither to the right nor to the left_--_only straight infront of you, where you set down your steps_."
Then he resumed his strange wild chant, now sinking it to an awe-struckwhisper hardly above his breath. It was a weird, uncanny sight, thosefour shadowy figures advancing through the thick black darkness, thefiery eye of the lantern darting forth its luminous column in front,while the deep-toned, long-drawn notes of the wild, heathenish _rune_died away in whispering echoes overhead.
"Oh! good Lord! Look at that!"
The cry broke from Shelton. All started, so great was the state oftension that their nerves were undergoing. Following his glance theypromptly discovered what it was that had evoked it.
Lying upon a great slab of rock, about on a level with their chests, wasan enormous puff-adder. The bloated proportions of the hideous reptilewere disposed in a sinuous coil--shadowy, repulsive to the last degree,in the light of the lantern. A shudder ran through every one of thethree white men.
"Quick, Josane. Hand me one of your kerries," said Shelton. "I can geta whack at him now."
But the Kafir, peremptorily, almost angrily refused.
"Why did you not listen to my words?" he said. "Look neither to theright nor to the left, was what I told you. Then you would have seennothing. Now let us move on."
But Shelton and Hoste stood, irresolutely staring at the horrid reptileas though half fascinated. It--as if resenting the intrusion--began tounwind its sluggish folds, and raising its head, emitted a low, warninghiss, at the same time blowing itself out with a sound as of a pair ofbellows collapsing, after the fashion which has gained for this mostrepulsive of all serpents its distinctive name.
"You must not kill it," repeated the Kafir, in a tone almost of command."This is `The Home of the Serpents,' remember. Did I not warn you?"
They saw that he was deadly in earnest. Here in this horrible den,right in the heart of the earth, the dark-skinned, superstitious savageseemed the one to command. It was perhaps remarkable that no thought ofdisobeying him entered the mind of any one of the three white men; stillmore so, that no resentment entered in either. They resumed their waywithout a murmur; not, however, without some furtive glances behind, asthough dreading an attack on the part of the deadly reptile they wereleaving in their rear. More than once they thought to detect the soundof that slow, crawling glide--to discern an indistinct and sinuousshadow moving in the subdued light.
"This is `The Home of the Serpents'!" chanted Josane, taking up oncemore his weird refrain.
"This is The Home of the Serpents, the abode of the Spirit-dead. O_Inyoka 'Nkulu_ [Great Serpent] do us no hurt! O Snake of Snakes, harmus not!
"The shades of thy home are blacker than blackest night.
"We tread the dark shades of thy home in search of the white man'sfriend.
"Give us back the white man's friend, so may we depart in peace--
"In peace from The Home of the Serpents, the abode of the Spirit-dead.
"Into light from the awe-dealing gloom, where the shades of our fatherscreep.
"So may we return to the daylight in safety with him whom we seek.
"Harm us not, O Snake of snakes! Do us no hurt, O _Inyoka 'Nkulu_!"
The drawn out notes of this lugubrious refrain were uttered with astrange, low, concentrative emphasis which was indescribably thrilling.Eustace, the only one of the party who thoroughly grasped its burden,felt curiously affected by it. The species of devil worship implied inthe heathenish invocation communicated its influence to himself. Hisspirits, up till now depressed and burdened as with a weight of broodingevil, seemed to rise to an extraordinary pitch of exaltation, as thoughrejoicing at the prospect of prompt admission into strange mysteries.Far otherwise, however, were the other two affected by the surroundings.Indeed, it is by no means certain that had their own inclinations beenthe sole guide in the matter, they would there and then have turnedround and beat a hasty and ignominious retreat, leaving Tom Carhayes andhis potential fate to the investigation of some more enterprising party.
The atmosphere grew more foetid and pestilential. Suddenly the cavernwidened out. Great slabs of rock jutted horizontally from the sides,sometimes so nearly meeting that there was only just room to pass insingle file between. Then a low cry of horror escaped the three whitemen. They stopped short, as though they had encountered a row of fixedbayonets, and some, at any rate, of the party were conscious of the veryhair on their heads standing erect.
For, lying about upon the rock slabs were numbers of shadowy, sinuousshapes, similar to the one they had just disturbed. Some were lyingapart, some were coiled up together in a heaving, revolting mass. Asthe light of the lantern flashed upon them, they began to move. Thehideous coils began to separate, gliding apart, head erect, and hissingtill the whole area of the grisly cavern seemed alive with writhing,hissing serpents. Turn the light which way they would, there were thesame great wriggling coils, the same frightful heads. Many, hithertounseen, were pouring their loathsome, gliding shapes down the rocksoverhead, and the dull, dragging heavy sound, as the horrible reptilescrawl
ed over the hard and stony surface, mingled with that of stridenthissing. What a sight to come upon in the heart of the earth!
It is safe to assert that no object in Nature is held in more utter anduniversal detestation by man than the serpent. And here were these menpenned up within an underground cave in the very heart of the earth,with scores, if not hundreds, of these frightful and most deadlyreptiles--some too, of abnormal size--around them; all on the move, andso near that it was as much as they could do to avoid actual contact.Small wonder that their flesh should creep and that every drop of bloodshould seem to curdle within their veins. It was a position to recur toa man in his dreams until his dying day.
"Oh, I can't stand any more of this," said Hoste, who was walking last."Hang it. Anything above ground, you know--but this--! Faugh! We'vegot no show at all. Ugh-h!"
Something cold had come in contact with his hand. He started violently.But it was only the clammy surface of a projecting rock.
And now the whole of the gloomy chamber resounded with shrill and angryhissing, as the disturbed reptiles glided hither and thither--was alivewith waving necks and distended jaws, glimpsed shadowy on the confinesof the disk of light which shot into the remote corners of the frightfulden. Curiously enough, not one of the serpents seemed to be lying inthe pathway itself. All were on the ledges of rock which bordered it.
"Keep silence and follow close on my steps," said Josane shortly. Thenhe raised his voice and threw a marvellously strange, soft melodiousnessinto the weird song, which he had never ceased to chant. Eustace, whowas the first to recover to some extent his self-possession, and whotook in the state of affairs, now joined in with a low, clear, whistlingaccompaniment. The effect was extraordinary. The writhing contortionsof the reptiles ceased with a suddenness little short of magical. Withheads raised and a slight waving motion of the neck they listened,apparently entranced. It was a wonderful sight, terrible in its weirdghastliness--that swarm of deadly serpents held thus spell-bound by theeerie barbaric music. It really looked as though there was more thanmet the eye in that heathenish adjuration as they walked unharmedthrough the deadly reptiles to the refrain of the long-drawn, lugubriouschant.
"Harm us not, O Snake of Snakes! Do us no hurt, _O Inyoka 'Nkulu_!"
Thus they passed through that fearful chamber, sometimes within a couple of yards of two or three serpents lying on a level with their faces. Once it was all that even Eustace, the self-possessed, could do to keep himself from ducking violently as the head of a huge puff-adder noiselessly shot up horribly close to his ear, and a very marked quaver came into his whistling notes.
As the cavern narrowed to its former tunnel-like dimensions the serpents grew perceptibly scarcer. One or two would be seen to wriggle away, here and there; then no more were met with. The sickening closeness of the air still continued, and now this stood amply accounted for. It was due to the foetid exhalations produced by this mass of noisome reptiles congregated within a confined space far removed from the outer air.
"Faugh!" ejaculated Hoste. "Thank Heaven these awful brutes seem to have grown scarce again. Shall we have to go back through them, Josane?"
"It is not yet time to talk of going back," was the grim reply. Then he had hardly resumed his magic song before he broke it off abruptly. At the same time the others started, and their faces blanched in the semi-darkness.
For, out of the black gloom in front of them, not very far in front either, there burst forth such a frightful diabolical howl as ever curdled the heart's blood of an appalled listener.
'Tween Snow and Fire: A Tale of the Last Kafir War Page 44